Lens cutter



July15, 1930- N. M. BAKER 1,770,452

' LENS CUTTER Filed May 28, 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 gwuantoz nelso n ZYZFdZzez:

July 15, 1930. N. M. BAKER 1 0,45

LENS CUTTER Filed May 28, 1925 Y 4 sheet -5m 2 gwuemtoo 9 I zzezmzzwakm y 1930. N. BAKER 1,770,452

LENS CUTTER Filed May 28, 1925 4 ShOOtS-ShOBt 4' 7 a 5 i f Fig.6. 4g '60 I 40 a9 w I 58 3'0- g v i 1 a mm w 04 Patented. July 15,1939 I nnnson n. BAKER, or soomnisarnan, AssAoHUsn'r'rs; ASSIC-fltTOB. 10' AMERICAN on soerrnszernen, Massacre-Ushers a VOLUNTARY AssooIA- OPTICAL CGMPAEIY, I 'IION or MASSACHUSETTS,

Application mama as,

Thisinvention relatesto new and useful,

improvements in cutters, and has particular reference to a novel and lmproved construc tion' ofmachlne partlcularly adapted for use 3 in the cutting of ophthalmic lenses. In the cutting of such lenses, it is cus" tomary to provide a machine .of the charac-v ter stated having a plurality of formers of different sizes and'shapes, and wherein is providedmeans for imparting the shapeof any one of the formers to a lens.., It iswell known that in order that a lens may be accumarkers on the lens holder. Howevelyin'the great majority of suchmachi'nea'prior'to the present invention, the formers have been mounted on a shaft positioned directly above the work table carrying the lens to be out, which made it very difiicultto align the above mentioned markers inasmuch asthe operator could not look; directly down upon the top of the lens but instead had, to position the lens while looking; at "it fro n'an angle so that while itmay-have appeared to the'worker that the markerswere in'proper alignment, they were not t Moreover, these narily provided with'a limited number of formers, usually four, and because ofjthe large VtLI'lQiZY of standard shapes of len ses used, a more or less constantlchangeo'fthese formers was found'ne'cessary, whichconsequently resultedin the loss of much'time, and labor. a

ed and arranged that the operator look directly down on top of the lens, 'whereby lens holder willbe assured;

Anotherobject of the present invention is 'J the provision-of a, machine "of t hisicharacter havinga sufficient number of'formers in or f' der that a large variety, both of sizes and machines have beenfordi It is, therefore, one of theprincipal objects of the present invention to provide 'a machine of thecharacter stated whlch s so construct- 1 as I I Lens CUTTER 1925. Serial N0. 33,473.

necessity ofconstantly changing formers.

Another object of the invention isito providesuch a machine wherein the formers are spindle, carrying the 'mounted on the, same lens to be cut. 7

shapes, of lenses may be cut without the Another object is to provide such a m'achine having a plurality of formers mounted in'the base member thereof Vneath the-lens holder.

.Another object is to chine which willserve to satisfactorily cut and positioned bei 7- 1'60, provide such a "Inalenses of various curvatures and wherein the" cutting mechanlsm is ad]ustableso as-topresent the cutting point substantially normal to said lens, whereby the i is effected.

Another object for engagement with the desired'former. V -A-furtherfob ectis to provide such a machine wherein the'co'ntact shoe will, at all tlmes, be held firmly againstthe former and V which shall insure absolute reproduction of the shape of former employechand'which shall, 1 at the same time insure proper tracking of the diamond when following either elliptical Y or odd shapes. A

. Otherobjectsandadyantages of'the presing-SQ application. i

constructed I 'Eigure 2 is a horizontal section en OlflllIlQQ-fQ of F gure 1 1 in the a viewjtalr-i 7 best cutting action v is the provision in 'connec- 1 tion with amachine having a plurality of formers of novel and improved mechanism 7 for-selectively presenting the contact jshoe'g entinVentiOn-should be readily apparentjby reference to thefollowlng specification taken 7 in connect on with the accompanying draw i,

Figure 1 is a front; ele vation of a machine r in accordance with the present c1Z1V61ltlO Il;'-

. the proper positioning'thereofirelative to the a ,I

Figure '3 is a si le'elevatlon' ofthe machine}; 7

v Figure l is a top plan view thereof Figure 5 is a vertical sectional view onthe Figure 6is a detail sectional view on line 6-6 of Figure 1;

Figure 7 is a detail sectional View on line 77 of Figure 4.

Referring more particularly to the accompanying drawings, wherein like characters of reference denote corresponding parts throughout the several views, it will be noted that in carrying the invention into practice there is employed a hollow base member 10 being cut away at one side, as indicated at 11, and having an opening 12 in the top 13 thereof, said opening 12 being counter-bored to form the circumferential shoulder 14, See Fig. 7. Positioned within the base member 10, adjacent the bottom thereof is a bearing 15, and rotatably mounted within this bearing is a bushing 16 formed integrally with the bevel gear 17, which is rotated by means of the bevel driving pinion 18 in constant mesh therewith, said pinion. being mounted on the inner end of the shaft 19, which extends through the side wall of the base member and to the-outer end of which is connected the operating handle 20. Inserted within the opening 12 is a bushing 21 having a circumferential 22 -which rests upon the shoulder 14, whereby to retain said bushing in position. The bushings 16 and 21 are ar-- ranged in vertical alignment with each other and provide bearings for the vertical spindle 23, to which is keyed an elongated bushing 24 on which is mounted a plurality of formers 25. The upper portion of the spindle is reduced. as indicated at 26, to form the resultant shoulder 27, said spindle extending upwardly beyond the base member 10 and having secured to its outer end the usual supporting table 28, within which is positioned a removable plate 29 carrying the rubber bed 30 on and against which isarranged to be clamped, the lens 31. I

Encircling the reduced portion 26 of the spindle 23 and resting upon the shoulder 27. is a bearing 32, formed integrally with the circular plate 33, which extends outwardly beyond the base member 10 and is formed into a 'vertical socket member 34 having a recess 35. Formed at the upper end of the socket member 3.4 are the inwardly extending arms 36 spaced a suilicient distance to hold between them a lever 37, which extends inwardly and centrally of the base member 1.0 and carries the lens clamp 38 which is connected therewith by a universal ball an'd socket joint 39 to permit the clamp to automatically seat itself on the lens whenit is lowered Arranged Within the recess and bearing against the lever 3'? is a. spring 40 which tends. to force the outer end of the lever 37 carrying the lens clamp 38 downwardly against and upon the lens 31. The lever 37 is extended backwardly and flattened sufficiently to form a convenient thumb holding surface 11, a corresponding finger rest 42 being formed in- V tioned, there is pivoted to the thumb holding surface 11 a latch 44 which is provided with a notch 15 arranged to engage with a transverse pin 46 positioned in a slot 47 in the finger rest42. WVhen it is desired to release the lens, the lever is oscillated on its pivot and the latch 4 snapped into position so that the notch will engage with the pin 46 and retain the clamp 38 removed from the lens. Cut in the lever 37 are a pair of cam paths 18 and 49 receiving the bolts 50 and 51. respectively, which are held rigidly in the spaced arms 36 at either side of the lever and permit the pivotal action thereof during the raising and lowering of the lens clamp 38.

These cam paths and the bolts engaging the clamping thereof regardless of the curvature of the lens. The bushing 16 is provided with a key 52, which operates within a groove 53 formed'in the spindle 23 so that while the spindle may be raised and lowered independently of the gear 17, it is at all times rotatable therewith.

Positioned at one side of the cut away portion 11 are the vertically aligned bearin 54C and 55, in which is fixed the shaft Fivotally mounted on the shaft, between the bearings. is a bracket member 57 having the vertically'spaced arms 58 and 59 in which are swi velledthe armsGO andfil of the support -32. The upper end portion of the support extends above the top of the base member 10 and i 1 directed inwardly as at 63, and pivot-ally secured to the free end of this inwardly direct ed portion, as at 6% is the cutting mechanism designated generally by the reference ch acter 65, and which includes the base portion 66 and the arms 67 extending in a direction at substantially right angles to the base por tiouand carrying the (itching diamond 63. Yfhen cutting a lens it very essential that thediamond be positioned as near at right angles thereto at thepoint of contact as it.

dinel recess-69 in which isaiianged a spring pressed plunor el 70 which is adapted for selectiveengagem nt with any one of the openings 71 formed in the semi-circular shoulder 72 carried by the support 62. To

facilitate this adjusting operation there is small of the recess 69 against the action of the spring contained therein, and the entire cutter mechanism swungon its-pivot 6 1 until 4 I, 7

carrying the former shoe 82 will be raisedthe proper an 'le of'the diamond-has been se:

cured, whereupon the plunger is released and permitted to engage within the adjacent opening, whereby to retain said diamond at the desired angle. I g

Carried by the'support 62at apoint approximately intermediate the top and bottom of the base member 10, is a housing 76 having the rearward extension 71 which s slidabiy j received within the transverse groove '78 formed in the support 62. lvfounted within the housing 7 6 is a segmental gear wheel 79 which 'nieshes withthe vertical rack bar 80 arran 'ed within the uide wa Y 81 so that as the segmental gear wheel is rotated, the rack bar is arranged to be either raised or lowered.

Secured to the rack bar 80 is the former shoe 82 comprising the stationary contact plate 83 arranged'to be selectivelypositioned adjacent the formers 25, as the said rack bar 80 is raised or lowered. Mounted upon the plate 88 a slide 84 having the spacedscontactj aws 85, see Fig. 2, which also engage with said formers. a The slide'8 l is actuated along bracket member 5?, so that the lever "is op,

i may engage the said'former's'; v I

Inorder to rotate the segmental gear79 the )late 83in the direction of the formers by means ofthe springs 86whichgive a light: pressure so thatthe contactgaws willatiall times be held againstthe formers. Thiscon struction is particularly useful 'in jrcutting octagonal or other odd shapes in that a-s-the point or corner of the formeris received be'-- tween the contact jaws it,will cause the, support to be twisted about on its pivot so that the diamond will the new ine of'travel,

er'angular cut( I i immediately follow The contact plate 88 isfirinly held against" the formers through the instrumentalityof r -s o e-end; thereof secured toga collar- 88 rigidly carried by said shaft, whilethe oppo site end of said spring, 153: secured to the lever 89 'carryingi he spring "pressed pawl 90 enwith the ratchet 91, secured to the erated to win'd thes 'in 87 'thereb increasing the tension thereof, tl1e pawl'90'engaging with the ,ratch'et filfwill tend to force the p 1 5'? and the supp'ort G2 to; ward the formers 25 'so'tl'iatthe contact plate :0

the cutting diamond and in; the present invention there is -providedalever 1-10 pivot 1115* bracket niein 83 will,- at all'tilnegbeheld in engagement one side, as indicated ant-)2, to permit the bracket member 57 to be received within the base member 10 so thatthe contact pla-te'fsf thereby insuring props 8ji',whicli encircles the sjhaft 56 and e I I v 7 land as theadpistmgscrew 102 is operated and whereby to raise or lowerthe rack-bar80 order-Ito position the contact plate 83" adjacent the. desired former, there s secured to circular slot 94 formed in the frontface of the housingi6 so that as the operating pin 98is the 'segmentalgear an operating pin 93 which, PIOJGCtS through and operates withina semrswung in either direction, the rackbar 80' or lowered. is graduated as at 95, to

The front face of the housing show the varlous,

shapes-of formers employed, and any desired former can be easily lo'cated 'by simply mov i the housing and en ages with the notches 991 formed on'the segmental geanwheel at a pointopposite to the teeth 100thereot1 The ClESiIGCl' size of alens is obtained by moving the diamondtowardor away from P the'center of rotation thereof and this is accon'iplished by means of a platelOl secured;

to the end face of thehousing' and also to the" 1 adjusting screw 102, which screw is threaded within the transverse open1ng 103 formed in thefisupport '62, theiouter end of said screw I having a thumb piece .104 to facilitate the operation thereof. Thus, after the contact plate 83 has been forced into engagementwith the desired former by the operation, of the lever 89, the screw 102 is rotated in either direction, which will cause .the'casting 61 carrying the diamond to be moved toward or away from the former, wherebyto' regulatek the size of the lens. i

Disposed 'through the upper end of the hous1ng 76 is a transverse shaft 105, to the inner end of which-is connected an inverted U- shaped member 106 between the legsof which is arranged tO'JbQ received, the stationarypin 107- carried bythe support 62,3VVl1ljl6 to, the

outer end thereof is secured the indicator 108 J the support 62 moved toward or'away fronr F f and the inverted U-shaped member 106 until theindicator 108 registers'withanydesired onset the suitable graduations 10),which 1 will show the size being imparted tothe lens;

machines of this character, itis custoniary after the lens has been clamped inproper pos1t1onto raise the same until it is engaged bottom of the spindle 23'. *Depressioh of the" l outer end of this lever acts to raise the spindle 23 and engage the lens 31 with the-cutting and this is accomplislvd through the medium of a pin 113 passing transversely through the splndle 28 and having its opposite ends engaged within recesses 114 formed at diame- 1; trically opposite points in the bushing 2a.

In the operation of the machine, the lens 31 is first clamped against the rubber bed 30 in the manner hereinabove set forth, and the cutting diamond 68 adjusted to the desired angle according to the curvature of the lens, so that it will be as near normal at the point of contact with the lens as is possible, after which the segmental gear 7 9 is rotated to either raise or lower the rack bar in order to position the contact plate 83 adjacent the desired former. The lever 89 is then operated to windthe spring 87 and after this has been done, the pawl engaging with the ratchet 91 carried by the bracket member 57 will force the same into the base member 10 through the cutaway portion 11 and cause the contact plate 83 to firmly engage with the selected former 25. The operating screw102 is then rotated so as to move the support 62 carrying the diamond 68 toward or away from the formers, whereby to determine the size of the lens which will be'shown by the position of the indicator 108 relative to the graduations 109.. Depression on the outer endof'the lever 110 will. then act to raise the spindle 23, the lens 31 and the clamping mechanism until the lens engages with the diamond G8, and as it is held in engagement therewith, the operating handle 90 is rotated, which in turn will convey movement to the bevel gear 17 through the bevel driving pinion 18, and rotate the spindle 523, the lens 31 and the formers 25. As the contact plate 83 transgresses the former, the support 62 and the diamond 6S'will be caused to move inwardly andoutwardly whereby the shape of said former will be imparted to the lens.

lVhen it is desired to withdraw the contact plate 83 from engagement with a former in order to position itadjacent another one of a different shape, the operator need only press upon the thumb piece 115, whereby the pawl 90 will be disenga ed from the ratchet 91 and the lever 89pern L to be moved in a direc lionto unwi d r87. l fhen the esl isreleased f1 c 1 sure o the s i the hr. .ct I member 57, 4 support 62 cari the form hoe can be pulled outwai d, from the formers'25, and the segme i al wheel 79 moved in either direction means of the operating pin SSwhereby to move the rack bar 80 upwardly or downwardly to position the contact plate 83 adjacent-another former. i V

If, when the lever 89 is operated to wind and away the spring 87, the tension thereof is not sufficient to hold the contact plate 83 firmly in engagement with the formers, the set screw 116 carried by the shaft 56 may be loosened and the said shaft rotated to wind the spring until a sutlicient tension has been secured after which the said set screw is tightened and the lever 89 then operated in the usual manner.

The circular plate 34: is held in proper position with respect to the base member 10, and against rotation during the rotation of the spindle 23 and the lens 31 by means of a vertical pin 117 which is carried by the base member 10 and received within the socket member 35.

From the above it will be readily appreciated that there has been provided a lens cutter which will perform all of the functions and accomplish all of the objects claimed and while there has been shown and described a. preferred embodiment of the invention, it will be understood that modifications in the specific details of construction may be found necessary and that any such changes as fall within the scope of the ap pended claims, may be made without departing from or exceeding the spirit of the invention.

lVhat is claimed is:

1. A lens cutter of the character described, including a lens carrying spindle. a member mounted on said spindle and having a plurality of lens shapes. said spindle arranged to be moved independently of said member, and a movable contact plate arranged for selective engagement with any one of said lens shapes.

2. A lens cutter of the character described, including a. lens carrying spindle, a plurality of formers mounted on said spindle, said spindle being arranged to be moved independently of the formers, asingle contact plate, and means for moving the contact plate to position it adjacent any desired former.

3. A lens cutter of the character described,

including a base member, a lens holding spindle within said basemember, a member having a plurality of lens shapes mounted on said spindle, said spindle being arranged to be moved longitudinally independently of the lens shape member, a swinging member carried by the base member, a movable contact plate arranged for selective engagement with the said lens shape member, lens cut ting mechanism carried by said swinging member and means also carried by the swinging member adapted to coact with the contact plate for moving thecontact plate towardor away from the base member.

4; A lens cutter. of the character described, including a base member, a spindle mounted within said base member and arranged to ill) having a plurality of'lens shapes carried said spindle, a support positioned adjacent said base member, a contact plate-carried by said support, means for adjusting said con tact plate to position it' for contact with any j desired lens shape, a lens cutter 'carried'byv dle mounted within said base member and arranged to support a lens outwardly thereof, a plurality of formers carried by said spindle, said spindle being adapted to be moved longitudinallyindependently of said formers, a swinging member carried bysaid base member and arranged to be swung outwardly and away therefrom, a contact plate raising and lowering said contact plate to position it for contact with any desired former, means for holding said plate in engagement with the former, a cutter carried by said swinging member,'means for adjusting the angle of said cutter with respect to the surface of a lens, and means for moving said cutter toward or away from the center: of the lens. V I i V I 6. A lens cutter of the character described, including a spindle, amember mounted on said spindle and having 'a pluralityof lens shapes, said'spindle being arranged-to be moved longitudinally independently of said member, a swinging member positioned adjacent said spindle, a longitudinally movable contact plate carried by said swingingmemher and arranged for selective engagement with any one of said lens shapes, cutting g mechanism carried by said swinging memher, and means also carried by the swinging member for moving the cuttmg mechanism:

towardor awayfrom the center of the lens.

7. In a lens cutter of the character'de- I scribed, the combination with a member'having a plurality of lens shapes, of a rack bar positioned adjacent said member, a contact plate carried by said bar, and a gear wheel 'meshing' with said rack bar and arranged upon rotation to move the same longitudinally, whereby to position said contact plate adjacent any desired lens shape.

81111 a lens cutter of the character described, a former,:a bracket member, a con-' tact plate carried by the bracketmember and arranged to engage said former, a ratchet secured to said bracket member, a pawl, and spring means for holding said pawl engaged with said ratchet whereby to force the bracket member toward the former and hold the contact plate in engagement therewith.

9. In a lens cutter of the character described, a shaft, a bracket member pivotally mounted on said shaft, a former engaging contact plate carried by said bracket member, a ratchet also carried by said bracket memher, a lever carried the. shaft, apawl car-f rieolby said lever, and acoil spring encircling said shaft and having one end fixed; thereto while the other endthereof is secured toisaid leverwhereby to hold the pawlin engagement with said ratchet and thecontact plate. against {a former. r :2 a 7 U10." In a ClGVlCGYOf thecharacter described,

a rotatablezlens carrying spindle, a member having a plurality of lensshapes mounted on the-splndle, means for movlngthe spindle longitudinally independently of .the lens shape member, a contact member, and means for moving the contact member to engage any one ofthe lens shapes.-- f

11. In a device of the character described, a'member having a plurality oflens shapes,

saidmember, a contact member carried by the reciprocating member, and. .means lnter-actng with the reciprocating member to move the reciprocating means longitudinally to ositionthe contactniember in en a ement Qwith any desired lens shape.

12. a device of the character described, a support, an arbor on the support,a plurality oflens shapeson the arbor, a bracket pivoted on the support on an'axis parallel to the axis of the arbor, a second bracket pivoted to the first bracket onan axis parallel to the axis of the arbor, a contact on the second bracket adapted to? engage the lens shapes on the arbor, means to move theeon tact on the} secondfbracket towards and from the lens shapes, means to move the contact parallel to the axis of the arbor, and'resilient means to hold the Contact against the lens shapes.

13JIn a device of the character described, a support; an arbor on'the support, a lens shape on the arbor, a'bracket pivoted on the the'support on an axis parallel to the axis of the arbor, a secondbracket'pivoted to the first bracket on an axis parallel to the axis of the I arbor, a contact on the second bracket adapted to engage the lens shape, resilient means to hold the contact against the lens shape, and ratchet means to regulate the tension of the resilient means.

14. In a device of the character described,

to the axis of the arbor, a contact on the second va reciprocating member'positioned adjacent H carried by sa1d swinglng member, means for n swinging arm to engage the lens shape, a lensseat on the support aligned with the arbor, an extension arm-pivoted on the second swinging arm and overhanging the lens seat, and a lens cutter on the extension overhanging arm.

15. In a lens cutter, a support, a spindle in the support having a lens rest thereon, a swinging'arm pivoted to the support on an axis parallel to the axis of the spindle, a second swinging arm pivoted to the first swinging arm on an axis parallel to the spindle, an extension arm pivoted to the second swing ing arm on an axis transverse to the axis. of the spindle and extending over the lens rest, means to lock the extension arm in desired angular position with respect to the lens rest, a cutting element on the pivoted arm, and means to rotate the spindle whereby the lens is rotated against the cutting element.

16. In a lens cutter, a support, a spindle in the support having a lens rest thereon, a plurality of lens shapes on the spindle, a swinging arm pivoted to the support on an axis parallel to the axis of the spindle, a second swinging arm pivoted to the first swinging arm on an axis parallel with the spindle, an

extension arm pivoted to the second swinging arm on an axis transverse to the axis of the spindle and extending .over the lens rest, means to lock the extension arm in desired angular position with regard to the lens rest, a cutting element on the extension arm, a contact on the second arm, means to engage the contact with the desired lens shape, and

means to rotate the spindle whereby the lens is rotated against the cutting element.

NELSON M. BAKER. 

